YOGA
In Yin we exercise the connective tissue, joints and ligaments by spending three minutes or more in one pose.
The connective tissue is like the plastic in fibre - it requires time to open (explaining the need for long holds). This is when Yin becomes fascinating - as each minute goes by we feel the body open naturally, breathing in to the tension and then exhaling to find that we have created space. With each breath the body sinks a little deeper.
“you are best to practice your own form of yoga, however imperfectly that may be, than to practice the yoga of another perfectly.”
The slow pace of Yin and its meditative foundations open us to our body’s true needs. As our bodily awareness grows we relearn our very selves. In this deep holistic relaxation which brings us face to face with our bodies and our minds, we find an 'inner teacher’.
We each have our own peculiar skeletal structure and our own peculiar bodily form - we do not prescribe how a pose should be done. Finding the pose is always an absolutely singular and individual experience, dependent on individual idiosyncrasies and body shapes – it is INTUITIVE and the intuition is always yours. Just one hour of yin yoga enables us to press the restart button on our entire nervous system!
Eyes wide shut
I try to abandon all those objectifying habits and thought processes which set us against ourselves. When we compare ourselves to an image we are breaking ourselves in two - an ideal image on the one hand, and a reality failing to meet the demands of that ideal on the other. It is a judgemental structure which is imposed by all of society's objectifying processes and by a self-consciousness which is always second guessing ourselves. Structures of judgement, objectification and competitiveness go against the very holistic nature of Yin practice.
Therefore I aim to provide an absolutely non-objectifying and non-judgemental space. My aim is for you to be and feel integrated, to feel and be whole, so you can be comfortable and find your inner teacher without the anxieties of self-consciousness. I therefore teach with my eyes closed but awareness open. Teaching with 'eyes wide shut' helps with an inner focus, awareness and intuition and meshes well with no-correction/no-adjustment technique. By teaching with eyes closed I hope to give you the privacy and space you need to find your own inner focus and your own intuition. Many beginners find the prospect of judgement and being stared at a barrier to their practice, and even experienced practitioners can be distracted by objectifications.